Handling device for mounting or removing an access door

ABSTRACT

Handling device for mounting or removing an access door of a case or housing of a structure such as a machine or the like, characterized in that it comprises a substantially horizontal system of slide guides secured preferably removably against the lateral wall of the case outside of the latter and at least one movable suspension member supported and guided by the said system of slide guides and adapted to be removably secured to the said door.

[ Sept. 11, 1973 United States Patent [191 Kuhn 108/6 R 308/6 R 308/DIG. 7

Horman......... t.............H.,..

Lewson.

579 4 5 999 lll /l/ 842 Karl Walter Kuhn,

Saint-Germain-En-Laye, France Societe dEtudes de Machines Primary ExaminerCharles J. Myhre Assistant ExaminerR. H. Lazarus [73] Assignee:

Therm'ques saim'Denis France AttorneyFrancis T. Carr et al. May 18, 1972 [21] Appl.-No.: 255,301

[22] Filed:

ABSTRACT [30] J ra Apphcauon Pnomy Dam I Handling device for mounting or removing an access une France 7120517 door of a case or housing of a structure Such as a chine or the like, characterized in that it comprises a substantially horizontal system of slide guides secured preferably removably against the lateral wall of the case outside of the latter and at least one movable sus- CWT 5W wlm c B6 1 l R F R 3 R m w 3 0 mm ..c "hr nn& I" h C km s m .w UIF 11].] 218 555 [ll 123/195 C pension member supported and guided by the said sys- I tem of slide guides and adapted to be removably se- Reierences C'ted cured to the said door. UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,889,112 Shoemaker 308/6 R 2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTED SEPI 1 I973 SHEEI 1 OF 3 PATENTED SEP] 1 1973 saw 2 0F 3 HANDLING DEVICE FOR MOUNTING OR REMOVING AN ACCESS DOOR The present invention has essentially for its object a handling device for mounting or removing an access, man-hole or inspection door of a case or housing of a structure such as a machine, for instance an intemalcombustion engine or the like.

It is known that the mounting and the removal of the man-hole doors of machines such as large engines are performed manually. Owing to such doors being heavy and difficult to handle, this preliminary work with the view of the inspection of, for instance, an engine, necessitates considerable physical effort accompanied by a risk of injury to the workmen, and requires much time. In the case of engines installed on board ships, this work must be carried out in a reduced available space, thus giving rise, moreover, to a problem of handling and storage of the removed doors, entailing the disadvantage of increased time of stoppage of the ship and, therefore, considerably reduced efficiency.

The purpose of the invention is to remedy these drawbacks by means of a device enabling the removed doors to be readily handled and avoiding need for their storage in locations separate from the engine. To this end, the device according to the invention is characterized in that it comprises a substantially horizontal system of slide guides secured preferably removably against the lateral wall of the engine case outside the latter, and at least one movable suspension member supported and guided by the said system of slide guides and adapted to be removably secured to a man-hole door to be removed.

According to another feature of the invention, the system of slide guides comprises at least two adjacent elements, each secured to the said wall and so connected with one another that one of the said elements, called longitudinal element, be substantially parallel with the said wall, whereas the other element, called transverse element, is placed substantially perpendicularly to the latter and extends from the said first ele ment to the said wall.

According to the invention, the said elements of the system of slide guides are constituted by pipe lengths rectangular in section and provided with a longitudinal guide slot or groove on its lower surface. The said slots or grooves of the longitudinal and transverse elements communicate with one another, so that a suspension member supporting the man-hole door and sliding in the said elements may pass continuously from the said transverse element to the said longitudinal element and vice versa, thus enabling ready displacement of the man-hole doors to give access to the openings of the case and avoiding the problem of storage of the removed doors, since the latter remain suspended on the engine. According to the invention, the system of slide guides may be designed in the form of a continuous .whole or subdivided into several juxtaposed keyshaped portions.

The invention will be better understood and other objects, characteristics and advantages thereof will appear as the following description proceeds, with reference to the appended drawings given solely by way of example illustrating several embodiment of the invention and wherein FIG. 1 is a side view of a Diesel engine equipped with a device according to a first embodiment of the invention FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view upon the line II-Il of FIG. 1

FIG. 3 shows the system of slide guides seen according to the arrow B of FIG. 2

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the slide element parallel with the wall, showing the roller head of the suspension member FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view of the junction of the two adjacent slide elements, showing the roller head of the suspension member and FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the system of slide guides subdivided into separate T-shaped portions.

As appears from the Figures, the system of slide guides which is secured to the wall I and supports the man-hole door or doors 2 (each serving to close an access orifice 2a) through the medium of one or several suspension members 3, comprises an element 4, called longitudinal element, substantially parallel with the wall, and an element 5, called transverse element, placed substantially perpendicularly between the element 4 and the wall. The element 4 is removably secured to the wall through the medium of support members 6. One end of the element 5 is connected to the element 4, whereas its opposite end ends, for instance, with a bent nose 7 engageable in a hanger or the like 8 secured to the wall.

Each element of the system of slide guides is substantially in the shape of a pipe rectangular in cross-section, provided with a guide slot 9 extending along the lower face of the said pipe.

The elements 4 and 5 are connected to one another.

At the location of this connection, the flange of the lower face of the element 4 adjacent to-the element 5 is provided with a slot, called transverse slot, substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal slot of the same element and ending in the latter. The end of the element 5 is secured substantially perpendicularly against the lateral face of the element 4, so that the guide slot is continued in the said transverse slot in such a manner that the upper end of the suspension member 3 may pass continuously from the element 4 to the element 5 and vice versa while bearing upon the flanges or edges defining each guide slot;

In the example illustrated, the upper end of the suspension member 3 is designed in the form of a projecting head 10 slidingly movable on the said flanges which may advantageously be provided with a self-lubricating coating such as teflon or the like in order to reduce friction.

For the same reason and in order to prevent the suspension member 3 from swinging during the passage of the round head 10 from the element 4 to the element 5 and vice versa, the diameter of the said head must be sufficiently greater than the width of the guide slot.

Another embodiment of the upper end of the suspension member is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, where the said end of the suspension member comprises rolling means such as rollers 11, at least two of which are located on opposite sides, so that the rollers of the opposite sides bear only upon the said flanges parallel with the wall and upon the flanges extending transversely of the wall, as illustrated in FIG. 5.

Advantageously, use may be made, instead of rollers 1 1, ofa ring or crown provided with rolling balls, which enables the friction produced during the passage of the head 11 from the element 4 to the element 5 and vice versa, to be considerably reduced.

The suspension member 3 comprises means 12 for adjusting its length, thus enabling the position of the man-hole door to be varied in height. The adjusting means 12 consist of two aligned threaded rods interconnected by a tapped ring forming a nut. Owing to the rods being threaded in mutually opposite directions, the rotation of the screw enables the distance between the said rods to be varied.

The invention providesfor the possibility of swinging the door 2 about the axis of the suspension member 3 through an angle of at least 90 in both directions. The member 3 is therefore mounted on the upper portion of the door 2 by means of a preferably pivotable clevis 13, which is unnecessary in the case ofa member 3 provided with a round sliding head 10, since the said head is pivotable in the guide slot while bearing upon the slotted face of the slide elements.

The position of the point of connection of the member 3 to the door 2 with respect to the centre of gravity of'the door can be advantageously so selected as to enable the man-hole door to be applied by gravity against the opening of the engine case by its lower portion, thus facilitating the insertion .of a positioning stud l4 ensuring a correct angular orientation of the door.

FIG. 2 shows that the doors removed and suspended respectively from the system of slide guides may be advantageously displaced easily along the longutidinal slide guide in order to be moved to one or to each end of the latter so as to completely clear the access to the openings of the casing.

According to another embodiment, the system of slide guides comprises one or several independent T -shaped portions 5, 4.

Of course, the invention is by no means limited to the forms of embodiment described and illustrated, which have been given by way of example only. In particular, it comprises all the means constituting technical equivalents to the means described as well as their combinations, should the latter be carried out according to the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is 1. In combination a housing including a lateral wall, an access orifice in said wall, an access door adapted to close said orifice and a handling device for movably supporting said access door; said handling device comprising at least one movable suspension member, a pivotable clevis for removably connecting on end of said suspension member to said door, means for adjusting the length of said suspension member, substantially horizontal slide guides secured to said lateral wall of said housing outside of the latter and above said access orifice, said slide guides being adapted to support and guide an other end of said suspension member and comprising at least two elements connected at right angles to one another, one of said elements extending substantially perpendicularly from said lateral wall and being secured at one of its ends to said lateral wall and at its other end to the other of said two elements, said other of said two elements extending substantially parallel with said lateral wall.

2. The combination according to claim 1, for a plurality of access doors adapted to close the same number of access orifices in said lateral wall of said housing, wherein said slide guides comprise a plurality of the said elements connected at right angles to one another, each of said elements which extends perpendicularly from said lateral wall being each secured to said wall above the access orifice, and each of said elements which extend parallel with said wall being connected to one another at their opposite ends. 

1. In combination a housing including a lateral wall, an access orifice in said wall, an access door adapted to close said orifice and a handling device for movably supporting said access door; said handling device comprising at least one movable suspension member, a pivotable clevis for removably connecting on end of said suspension member to said door, means for adjusting the length of said suspension member, substantially horizontal slide guides secured to said lateral wall of said housing outside of the latter and above said access orifice, said slide guides being adapted to support and guide an other end of said suspension member and comprising at least two elements connected at right angles to one another, one of said elements extending substantially perpendicularly from said lateral wall and being secured at one of its ends to said lateral wall and at its other end to the other of said two elements, said other of said two elements extending substantially parallel with said lateral wall.
 2. The combination according to claim 1, for a plurality of access doors adapted to close the same number of access orifices in said lateral wall of said housing, wherein said slide guides comprise a plurality of the said elements connected at right angles to one another, each of said elements which extends perpendicularly from said lateral wall being each secured to said wall above the access orifice, and each of said elements which extend parallel with said wall being connected to one another at their opposite ends. 